[Le morte darthur]

¶Capitulum primum

WHanne sire Gawayne was departed from his his felaushyp / he rode long withoute ony aduen¦ture / For he fond not the tenth parte of aduen∣ture as he was wonte to doo / For syre Gawa∣yn rode from whytsontyde vntyl Mychelmasse And fonde none aduenture that pleasyd hym / Soo on a daye it befelle Gawayne mette with sir Ector de marys / and eyther made grete Ioye of other / that it were merueylle to telle / And soo they told eueryche other and complayned them gre∣tely that they coude fynde none aduenture /

¶ Truly sayd syre Gawayne vnto syre Ector I am nyghe wery of this quest / and loth I am to folowe further in straūge

Countreyes / one thynge merueilled me sayd syre Ector I ha∣ue mette with twenty knyghtes felawes of myn / and al they complayne as I doo / I haue merueille said syr Ga∣wayne where that syr launcelot your broder is / Truly said sire Ector I can not here of hym nor of syr Galahad / Percyuale nor syr Bors / lete hem be sayd syre Gawayne / for they foure haue no pyeres / And yf one thyng were not in syr launcelot / he had no felawe of none erthely man / but he is as we be / but yf he took more payne vpon hym / But and these four be mette to gyders / they wille be bothe that ony man mete with hem / for and they fayle of the Sancgreal / hit is in waste of alle the re¦menaunt to recouer hit / Thus as Ector and Gawayne rode more than eyghte dayes / And on a saterday they fond an old chappel the whiche was wasted that there semed no man thy∣der repayred / and there they alyghte / and sette their speres att the dore / and in they entryd in to the chappel / and there ma∣de their orysons a grete whyle / And thenne sette hem doune in the seges of the chappel / And as they spak of one thyng and other / for heuynes they felle on slepe / and there befelle hem both merueyllous aduentures / Sir Gawayn hym semed he cam in to a medowe ful of herbes and floures / And there he sawe a rake of bulles an honderd and fyfty that were prowd & blak sauf thre of hem were al whyte and one had a blak spot / and the other two were soo fayre and soo whyte that they myght be no whyter / And these thre bulles whiche were soo fayre were teyed with two stronge cordes / And the remenaunt of the bul∣les sayd among hem goo we hens to seke better pasture / and so some wente / and some came ageyne / but they were so lene that they myghte not stande vp ryghte / and of the bulles that were soo whyte that one came ageyne and no mo / But whan this whyte bulle was come ageyne amonge these other / there rose vp a grete crye for lack of wynde y^t fayled them / And so they departed one here and another there / this aduysyon befelle Ga¦wayne that nyght